I am not sure of the correct play in this situation. Hopefully, some of the better SNG players can give me some advice on the right play since I don't play many SNGs.
$110+$9 turbo SNG
Blinds 200/400 (go to 250/500 in less than 1 minute)
5 handed - 2 ultra short
Seat 1: beanmo (515)
Seat 2: PokerToronto (115)
Seat 6: bballbilly77 (6,460)
Seat 7: cmitch (4,690)
Seat 8: wpm65 (1,720)
wpm65 posts the small blind of 200
beanmo posts the big blind of 400
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to cmitch [Qs Td]
PokerToronto calls 115, and is all in - obviously no choice for him
bballbilly77 folds - big stack
cmitch calls 400 - I call to hope to knock out both shorties
wpm65 raises to 1,720, and is all in - not sure why he didn't just call
beanmo calls 115, and is all in - obviously no choice for him
cmitch ?????
It is 1,320 to call. If I call and lose then I am sitting at 2,970. If I call and win, I am heads up about even in chips. If I fold, I am left with 4,290. If I call there is a very good chance both ultra-short stacks go out and we are itm.
I'm sure someone can tell me the mathematically correct play here keeping in mind the short stacks, the blinds about to go up, and the crazy aspect of the end game of a turbo sng.
Posts
I'm not running any math on this one, but I'll tell you what I'd do.
Fold.
QT-off is not going to win this pot. Here, you hope that both shorties get knocked out, and you've cashed.
Worst case, one shorty is out, and you're four handed, but still with a short stack in the mix.
Pot odds will probably dictate a call, but at this point in a turbo, pot odds are not the dictating factor. Unless you are hell bent on winning the thing.
Anonymous
3:34 AM
jam over the top initially.
Ryan
4:38 AM
A. That guy's a douche for not flat calling.
B. I'd most likely just fold and wait for another opportunity, but thinking about it more, calling isn't the worst idea ever. It will definitely increase the chances that the shorties get busted, and the chance that you bust the short stack is a nice incentive too. It would be tough on your stack if you lose the hand given the blind levels, but you would still have an M of 5 if you lose, which in a Turbo isn't the end of the world.
So yeah, I'd probably fold, but I wouldn't hate a call.
Mike Maloney
6:51 AM
The other commenters have it right.
You should have pushed on the button. Doing so give you the extra blind money and prevents players like wpm65 from putting you to a decision.
Mind you - the decision is very simple in this case. Fold.
Klopzi
9:35 AM
Numbbono, if you're not playing to win, what the hell are you playing for?
Cmitch, I can only tell you what I'd do which so far, it appears that's all the comments are doing (no one is coming up with a good answer, IMO). I'm personally not a big fan of smooth calling to begin with but since you did, so be it. The main question is the actual decision. Even though I'm getting 2:1 here, there are going to be 4 players in the pot. You're not gonna be a 33% fav to win here (I don't think) so I'm not sure that this is a call you want to make.
But like you, I have very little SNG experience so I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in but I'd say that's not worth sh*t in my opinion. I will wait to see what some others might say.
Alan aka RecessRampage
10:28 AM
What was your read on WPM65? If he's a good player, then this should be an easy fold. Most good player's will recognize the value here in simply calling to knock out the shorties. However, given the size of the bigstack, if this guy has something big, the play he's making is for stacks with you, to position himself to win the SNG. I assume he had a big hand.
Fred aka TwoBlackAces
11:04 AM
I bet there is some decent math in support of calling, being that you still have a decent stack size even if you lose, and it clearly increases the chance of busting the two shorties and getting you to the money.
That said, for the big price it takes you to call, and given your nice chip position already (even if third place busts the two shorties on this hand), I would fold. QT is not only not a strong hand to call three allins with, but it is especially not strong against the 1700-chip pushing hand's range, and there is a decent chance of domination as well. I say fold and wait for a better spot. You are probably likely to win second place money without calling here, and if you call then 3rd place becomes much more of a possibility assuming you are going to lose to the 1700-chip guy.
Maybe I'm the only one, but I kinda like your smooth call and I think the other guy shoulda just smooth called as well. Then you check it down. That's the best thing for both you and his equity in the tournament.
Have you played any of the 6-max turbo sngs? I am curious which format (6-max or ring) you find more winnable and more enjoyable as a rule.
Nice post, good hand to think about. Sng bubble stuff is the best.
Hammer Player a.k.a Hoyazo
3:52 PM
i like the smooth call because it shows the other stacks you just want to try to knock out the shorties. but tis tool decides to shove? I think I call anyway, even with this mediocre hand. I discount the shorties and just think about going heads-up with him hoping I have two live cards. Really the only reason I can think of that he does this is that he has some sort of vulnerable hand like a medium or low pocket pair and he wants to go up against the shorties and not you. If you have two overcards you could be in good shape.
the best scenario is that you bust him while one of the shorties survives so the donkey move costs him the ITM finish.
KajaPoker
7:29 PM
I like Hoy's response, and I like the smooth call. And the other fonkey should have smooth called too and checked it down. But now that we know he is an idiot, this is a fold, because he is not going to check down with you regardless of the flop and even if we hit a queen or ten, we still could be in bad shape. Fold, and berate this tool in the chat.
Lewis Cash
2:06 PM